Fractional redundant distribution of media content

ABSTRACT

A method and system for a client device to download media content directly from a group of other client devices which play a role of edge servers placed by a content service provider. According to some embodiments, an end user can use his/her client device to stream or download media content from the source client devices selected based on the geographic locality, network topology, etc. The fractions of data corresponding to a portion of media content are stored on the source client devices such that only a subset of the fractions of data are needed to recreate the corresponding portion. That is, by using the first received of the minimum number of fractions to reconstruct each portion of media content, the system does not need to wait for the slowest fractions to arrive, which contributes in reducing latency.

BACKGROUND

As the popularity of the Internet increases, users who want to receivemedia content over the Internet and content providers who offer suchservices exponentially grow. Most media content files, such as moviefiles, including video and audio information tend to be large, which cancause a delay (lag) problem for streaming or downloading the mediacontent files. Further, the growing number of users along with thegrowing number of content providers is causing congestion, latency, andother problems in the Internet. The congestion and latency problems areparticularly critical for media content files that should be deliveredin a real time or near real time sequence. For example, a movie ondemand service allowing a user to watch a movie over the Internet shoulddeliver a stream of movie data (a media content file) in near real timesequence in order not to disturb the smooth playing of the movie.

In order to mitigate the above-mentioned problems, some contentproviders distribute several copies of media content files of mediacontent to servers that are located in close proximity to user devices,i.e., a few hubs of connections away from the user devices. Theseservers may be placed at a location known as the “edge” of the network,and thus may be called “edge servers.” Typically, user devices that arelocated “beyond” the edge of the network communicate with the edgeservers over the Internet. After the media content file is distributedamongst edge servers, the media content file becomes available frommultiple edge servers that are located in different geographicallocalities on the network, such as the Internet. In this manner, mediacontent files are pushed to the edge of the network where user requestsmay be served from one of multiple edge servers, usually from thegeographically closest edge server. Thus, the media content files cantravel a relatively short distance (from the edge server to the userdevice).

However, the current approach having edge servers may not solve theabove-mentioned problems because of, among other reasons, the inherentproblems in delivering media content files over the Internet. Forexample, insufficient capacity on a particular communication link, slowprocessing speed of networking equipment, and latency in the Internetbecause of the time associated with data traveling over long distancesmay still exist as long as the user devices and the edge servers arecommunicating over unknown paths in the Internet.

Further, the delivery of media content from an edge server to userdevices can place a heavy load on the network that can result in lostdata. For example, when data is sent across the Internet, the userdevice may not receive all of the data transmitted from the edge server.This is because, for example, the media content may pass through somerouters where some data packets of the media content file may be droppeddue to congestion. In some cases, dropped packets can slow or halt thedelivery of media content because, as more data is resent to recover thedropped packets, routers can become more congested and thereby drop morepackets.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This summary is not intended to identify key features ofthe claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid indetermining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a method fordistributing media content to a client device from a group of otherclient devices which have been defined as source client devices isprovided. The method comprises receiving from the service providerinformation about the group of source client devices and establishing apeer-to-peer communication connection with each source client device.Upon establishment of the peer-to-peer communication connection, theclient device downloads media fractions or blocks from each sourceclient device. The media content has been divided into several mediafractions which in return have been distributed by the service provideramong the group of source client devices. The source client deviceincludes a cache memory component for storing the distributed mediafractions. A playable portion of the media content is constructed afterthe client device receives a subset of media fractions corresponding tothe playable portion. The subset of media fractions are the minimummedia fractions necessary to produce the playable portion.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method fora service server to provide media content to a user through a group ofsource client devices is provided. The method comprises retrieving anindex table associated with particular media content which was requestedby a client device, identifying a group of source client devices andproviding the client device with the information about the group ofsource client devices. Each of the source client devices stores one ormore portions of the particular media content in the form of mediafractions. The obtained index table includes information about thedistribution of the media fractions among the group of source clientdevices. The group of source client devices collectively store mediafractions corresponding to a playable portion of the instance of themedia content. Only a subset of the stored media fractions is requiredto produce the playable portion of the instance of the media content. Inan aspect of the method, only the media fraction delivered most quicklyis used, providing an overall decrease in latency.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, acomputer system is provided for enabling a client device to receivemedia content through a group of source client devices. The computersystem comprises several data stores for storing media content andinformation about several groups of source client devices. The computersystem also comprises a computing device in communication with the datastores. The computing device receives from a client device a request formedia content and obtains mapping information associated with the mediacontent. Based on the mapping information, a group of source clientdevices are identified for fulfilling the request. Each source clientdevice that is included in the identified group stores media fractionsof the media content. The mapping information includes information aboutdistribution of the plurality of media fractions related to the mediacontent among the group of source client devices. The computing deviceverifies the request and issues an authorization to access theidentified group of source client devices. The computing device providesthe client device with the information about the identified group ofsource client devices and the authorization.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of thisinvention will become more readily appreciated as the same become betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description, whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an illustrative operating environmentincluding a number of data stores, a service server, and several sourceclient devices facilitating a service for media content in accordancewith an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of several source client devices connected toa client device for transmitting media blocks in accordance with anaspect of the present invention;

FIG. 2B is a pictorial diagram illustrating several index tablesreflecting mapping information between media blocks and source clientdevices in accordance with an aspect of the present invention;

FIGS. 3A-3B are block diagrams of the operating environment of FIG. 1illustrating interactions among various components in the operatingenvironment where a client device receives an instance of media contentcollectively from a group of source client devices which have beenselected by the service server in accordance with an aspect of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a client device routine forstreaming an instance of media content from several source clientdevices in accordance with an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a service server routine forproviding services by enabling a client device to receive an instance ofmedia content from several source client devices in accordance with anaspect of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a media content initializationroutine for distributing media blocks of an instance of media contentamongst several source client devices in accordance with an aspect ofthe present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a pictorial diagram illustrating a group of source clientdevices serving a client located in a corresponding area in accordancewith an aspect of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description describes exemplary embodiments ofthe present invention. Although specific system configurations and flowdiagrams are illustrated, it should be understood that the examplesprovided are not exhaustive and do not limit the present invention tothe precise forms and embodiments disclosed. It will be apparent to oneskilled in the art that the invention may be practiced without some orall of these specific details. In other instances, well-known processsteps have not been described in detail in order not to unnecessarilyobscure the invention.

It should also be understood that the following description is presentedlargely in terms of logic operations that may be performed byconventional computer components. These computer components, which maybe grouped at a single location or distributed over a wide area on aplurality of devices, generally include computer processors, memorystorage devices, display devices, input devices, etc. In circumstanceswhere the computer components are distributed, the computer componentsare accessible to each other via communication links.

Generally described, embodiments of the present invention are related toa method and system for a client device to receive media contentdirectly from a group of other client devices which are defined assource client devices. As described below, a client device may also be asource client device for another client device. The source clientdevices may be implemented as small scale servers of a content serviceprovider. More specifically, a user can use his/her client device tostream or download media content from source client devices that arelogically grouped together, such as, for example, those located in asimilar geographic locality.

According to some embodiments, an instance of media content to bedelivered to a client is divided into portions, which are segments oflogically sequential data. In this respect, the portions are alsoreferred to herein as stripes. Each portion is further divided intoseveral fractions of data. As is known in a variety of redundant dataschemes, the fractions of data can be stored along with parityinformation or have other mathematical relationships such that only asubset of the fractions of data are needed to recreate the entireportion.

Accordingly, a group of source client devices are selected by thecontent service provider, each of which stores fractions of the mediacontent that collectively make up an entire instance of media content.During a downloading process, the portions of the media content aredelivered from the group of source client devices to a receiving clientdevice via delivery of the fractions of the media content. Because ofthe redundancy, the receiving client device can construct each portionusing only a subset of all the fractions in a particular potion. Thatis, the receiving client device can construct the entire portion usingthe first N fractions to arrive, where N is the minimum number offractions needed to reconstruct the entire portion. Because not all datais needed to construct the portion, only the data delivered most quicklyis used, providing an overall decrease in latency. Further, the portionof the instance of media content is small in size compared to the entireinstance of media content, which also contributes in reducing latency orcongestion. Not only does the redundancy of the data result in lowerlatency, such an approach also guards against failure of one or moresource client devices and/or intermediary network connections.

With reference now to FIG. 1, an illustrative operating environment 100can include a content service server (hereinafter “service server”) 104for providing and distributing instances of media content which areinitially stored in one or more data stores 102 or which are receivedfrom third party content providers (not shown). Some instances of mediacontent stored in the data store or received (e.g. streamed, etc.) fromother sources may be divided into portions (e.g., stripes). Theseportions are further divided into fractions (hereinafter “media blocks”)and distributed amongst source client devices 110-114 which areconfigured to facilitate services for users. The service server 104 maydetermine which source client device will store which media blocks ofparticular media content. A source client device 110-114 may be aconventional user device which has limited user programmablefunctionality while capable of streaming instances of media content fromthe service server 104 to users. The source client device 110-114 isconfigured to receive and store media blocks of an instance of mediacontent in memory and to deliver the media blocks of the instance of themedia content to other client devices upon request. For example, asource client device 110-114 may be a Digital Home CommunicationTerminal (DHCT) or a television Set-Top Terminal (STT) including a cachecomponent where a plurality of media blocks are stored and quicklyretrieved for fulfilling a request from a client device. As such, theservice server 104 may utilize the source client devices 110-114 forproviding instances of media content as if the source client device wereone of the edge servers of the service server.

In one embodiment, the source client devices 110-114 may be grouped forfacilitating a service for an instance of particular media content basedon a geographic locality (such as a town, neighborhood) or otherphysical or logical proximity grouping. For example, the service server104 may select a first group of source client devices 110-114 forserving a first town. In this example, any client devices located in thefirst town will be associated as a group of source client devices andcommunicate with the group for downloading, or streaming the particularmedia content. After dividing the instance of the particular mediacontent into portions (or stripes), the service server 104 maydistribute the media blocks associated with each portion to each groupof source client devices. The distribution of media blocks for aninstance of particular media content can be performed at once for eachand every group or gradually performed based on the demand of users inthe geographic locality. Once the media blocks are distributed among atleast one group of source client devices, a client device 108 canreceive the media blocks directly from the group of source clientdevices.

In one embodiment, for downloading media blocks, the client devices areconnected with the source client devices 110-114 via peer-to-peercommunication connections, thereby reducing latency caused by mediablocks (media content data) traveling over a long path in the Internet.According to some embodiments, the media blocks only travel from oneclient device (a source client device) to another over a less congestedpath or a shorter distance path, resulting in a decrease in latency.Further, each media block downloaded from a source client device issmall in size compared to the entire instance of media content, whichalso contributes in reducing latency or congestion. In addition, theservice server 104 may maintain a load balance among groups of serviceclient devices. For example, if there are too many requests for aninstance of particular media content in one geographic area, the serviceserver 104 may partition the geographic area into multiple areas orselect an additional group of source client devices to fulfill therequests for an instance of the particular media content. In oneembodiment, multiple groups of source client devices can serve onegeographic area for instance of particular media content. In addition,the source client devices in the multiple groups can be regrouped by theservice server. As well understood by one of ordinary skill in the art,a new source client device can be included in an existing group or a newgroup. Similarly, an existing source client device can be removed orbecome inactive from the existing group.

In an illustrative embodiment, a Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disk(RAID) concept may be implemented when the service server 104distributes the divided media blocks amongst the source client devices110-114. As will be well appreciated by one of ordinary skill in theart, RAID is a storage management technique commonly used in manystorage subsystems. RAID technology is utilized due to the combinationof parallel transfers and simultaneous responses to multiple requestsand can enable the source client devices to provide a high level ofperformance. Although several levels of RAID technology can beimplemented in conjunction with a group of source client devices, theexemplary embodiments described herein may implement RAID level 6 in thegroup of source client devices, maintaining first and second redundancyinformation to decrease latency in data delivery as well as guardagainst the failure of the delivery of fractions of data from two sourceclient devices. In alternative embodiments, other RAID levels may beutilized. For example, RAID level 1 may be utilized within each groupsuch that media data is striped with no mirroring or parity. In theevent of failure/corruption of a media block, the service server 104could resend the media block to the group or instruct the client deviceto obtain the media block from a source client device of another group.Referring now to FIG. 2A, a client device 108, for example a DHCT,establishes a peer-to-peer communication channel with each source clientdevice 210-216 based on information provided by the service server 104.As shown, the media blocks are distributed in accordance with RAID level6. For example, “Movie A” is divided into several portions (e.g.stripes) of media blocks and distributed among four different sourceclient devices. Referring to FIG. 2B, an exemplary index table 230reflecting mapping information between media blocks of “Movie A” andsource client devices is illustrated. As shown, several source clientdevices in a group store media blocks of “Movie A” in accordance withRAID level 6. “Movie A” is divided into stripes that are then dividedinto several media blocks. For example, the first stripe of “Movie A”includes “Block A1,” “Block A2,” “Block A3,” and “Block A4.” The secondstripe of “Movie A” includes “Block B1,” “Block B2,” “Block B3,” and“Block B4,” and so on. The blocks of each stripe are distributed amongstsource client devices in a group based on the mapping table 230.According to such an example, only two of the four blocks in a givenstripe are needed, along with parity information, to recreate the entirestripe of media content. Thus, it can be said that for each stripe ofmedia blocks, two redundant blocks are created and distributed among thesource client devices. The redundant blocks are distributed in a mannersuch that any source client device in a group can store a redundantblock, including the receiving client. Consequently, a receiving clientcan be configured to recreate the entire stripe of media content uponreceiving the first two blocks, while discarding the last two blocks, ifreceived. An improvement in latency, among other benefits, results fromthis approach. Further, no source client device becomes a dedicateddevice using such an approach. As mentioned above, the redundant blockscan be used to recover a defective media block. Thus, for example, if afirst received block is defective, a receiving client may discard thisblock in favor of using the next two received blocks to recreate therespective stripe of media content. In addition, if there is aconnection failure with one of the source client devices, the receivingclient can still construct the respective stripe of media content usingredundant blocks and thus no stripe of media content will be missed dueto the connection failure.

For the purpose of discussion, assume that the client device 108 hasrequested a service for “Movie A” and the service server 104 hastransmitted information identifying a group of source client devices forthe requested service. The identified source client devices store atleast one portion of “Movie A” in the form of media blocks. Assumefurther that the client device 108 establishes a peer-to-peercommunication connection with each of the source client devices 210-216in the group, but at one point a communication connection between theclient device and one source client device 216 fails, is slow, orotherwise delays the delivery of its respective media blocks. In thisexample, the client device 108 may download a first stripe of mediablocks that are available, for example “Block A1,” “Block A2,” and“Block A3,” from source client devices 210, 212, 214, respectively.Parity information about the stripe may also be transmitted separatelyor with each block. In this case, assuming that Blocks A1 and A2 arereceived first, these blocks can be used to recreate the entirerespective stripe of media content while Block A3 can be discarded.Likewise, even though Block A4 will be delayed and/or never receivedfrom client 216, client device 108 does not wait to receive this blockto recreate the stripe of media content.

As mentioned above, any source client device can be used as a regularclient device with which a user can navigate or request a service formedia content. Thus, in some instances, one of the source client devicesconfigured to serve a request for streaming or downloading an instanceof media content can be used by other client devices for requesting aservice for that instance of media content. In that case, the sourceclient device stores media blocks of the instance of media content inits cache component. After the service server 104 provides informationabout the source client devices where the requested instance of mediacontent is to be collectively received, the source client device willobtain the stored media blocks from its cache component and receiveother media blocks from the rest of the group.

With reference now to FIGS. 3A and 3B, the interaction by variouscomponents of the operating environment 100 to provide media contentservices using several source client devices is described. Asillustrated in FIG. 3A, a user may request a service for receivingparticular media content. A client device 108 operated by the user mayissue to the service server a request for streaming or downloading aninstance of media content. The request for the instance of media contentcan be transmitted via a communications network 106, such as theInternet. A service server 104 obtains the request and then determinesarea group of source client devices to serve the client device. Theservice server 104 obtains and looks up index tables related to therequested instance of media content, the media block distributioninformation, etc. Subsequently, the service server 104 identifies one ormore groups of source client devices which can provide the client devicewith media blocks that collectively constitute the requested instance ofmedia content. Among the identified groups of source client, the servermay choose a group that can most effectively facilitate the request fromthe client device.

For example, if a user in Seattle, Wash., selects the movie “Sound ofMusic” for a service, the client device 108 transmits to the serviceserver a request for streaming or downloading the movie “Sound ofMusic.” Then, the service server 104 obtains and looks up an index tableto select a group of source client devices which store media blocks ofan instance of the movie “Sound of Music” and also which are most likelyto deliver content to the client 108 with the least delay. For example,the service server may select clients that are geographically orlogically close, may consider loading of particular clients, and/ornetwork congestion, among other possibilities. As mentioned above, theservice server 104 distributes media blocks that collectively make upthe movie “Sound of Music” among groups of source client devices. Theservice server 104 may create index tables or mapping tables to mapmedia blocks and groups of source client devices.

In response to the request for streaming the instance of the mediacontent, the service server 104 transmits to the client device 108 theinformation about the selected group of source clients, such as an IPaddress of each source client device, the media block distributioninformation, etc. The information about the selected group of sourceclients can be transmitted via a communications network 106. After theclient device 108 obtains the information about the selected group ofsource clients, the client device 108 can establish a peer-to-peerconnection with each of the source client devices in the selected groupthat store the desired media content in order to obtain the mediablocks. In some embodiments, more than one source client 110-114 maystore and attempt to forward a particular media block. Furthermore,multiple media blocks from a single stripe (e.g., Block A1, Block A2,etc.) may be transmitted from a single client 110-114. Thus, it shouldbe understood that in some embodiments there is not a 1:1 relationshipbetween media blocks and source media clients that serve any particularclient device 108.

Referring now to FIG. 3B, once the peer-to-peer connections areestablished, the client device 108 can start downloading media blocksfrom each source client device 110-114. Through an individualpeer-to-peer connection, each source client device can parallel-transmitmedia blocks to the client device 108. The client device 108 may receivethe media blocks from the source client devices 110-114 and, with thereceived media blocks, construct a portion of the instance of mediacontent suitable for a playback. In one embodiment, as described above,each stripe of media blocks (e.g., a parity group of media blocks) hasredundant blocks for a recovery of late-arriving, missing or defectivedata in the stripe of media blocks. The client device 108 may constructa playable portion of the instance of media content after the minimumnumber of blocks needed to recreate one stripe of media blocks isreceived. Thus, the receiving client device 108 does not generally needto wait for all media blocks in a stripe to be received beforereconstructing the stripe of media content. However, if any defectiveblocks are discovered, late delivered media blocks can be used torecover the stripe of media content utilizing the redundancies.Subsequently, the client device 108 may play the constructed portion ofthe instance of media content. It is to be understood that the clientdevice 108 can receive the next stripe of media blocks while playing aportion of the instance of media content in order to provide acontinuous play of the instance of media content. Further, each sourceclient device may have a different speed for transmitting media blocksto the client device. The client device may download media blocks asmuch as possible ahead of time but construct a portion of the instanceof media content upon receipt of each stripe of media blocks.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a flow diagram 400 illustrative of a clientdevice routine for streaming an instance of media content from severalsource client devices in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention will be described. Beginning with block 402, a client deviceof a user transmits to a service server 104 a request for streaming ordownloading an instance of particular media content. The request can betransmitted from the client device via a communications network 106,such as the Internet. The service server 104 obtains the request andthen obtains information about the client device, for example, ageographical location of the client device, a network location of theclient device, etc. The service server 104 looks up an index tablerelated to the requested instance of media content and selects a groupof source client devices which can efficiently facilitate the requestfrom the client device. In one embodiment, the service server 104 mayselect a group of source client devices that are geographically locatedclose to the client device and have media blocks that can be utilized tofulfill the request. In some instances, the most closely located sourceclient devices may be overburdened from providing several services toother client devices. In that case, the server may select a group ofsource clients which are less burdened even if the selected sourceclient devices are located farther from the client device. In anotherembodiment, the server may choose a group that can most effectivelyfacilitate the request from the client device based on various factorsincluding, but not limited to, geographic and network topologyinformation.

At block 404, the client device may receive information about theselected group of source client devices from which the client device canreceive the requested instance of media content. In response to therequest, the service server 104 transmits to the client device theinformation about the selected group of source clients, such as an IPaddress of each source client device, the media block distributioninformation (e.g., a distribution map, index table, etc.) among thesource client devices, etc. The information about the selected group ofsource clients can be transmitted via a communications network 106. Atblock 408, the client device 108 establishes a peer-to-peer connectionwith each source client device from the selected group.

Through established peer-to-peer connections, the client device canstart receiving media blocks from the source client devices asillustrated at block 408. The client device can receive the media blocksfrom the source client devices in a parallel fashion since each sourceclient device is connected with the client device via a separatepeer-to-peer connection channel. If the client device is one of theselected source client devices, the media blocks may be simply obtainedfrom a cache component of the client device.

At block 410, the client device may construct (produce) a portion of theinstance of media content from a part of the downloaded media blocks. Asmentioned above, the construction may be done per stripe of mediablocks. A stripe of media blocks and corresponding redundant blocks maybe defined at the time of the distribution. The client device mayconstruct a portion of the instance of media content after the minimumnumber of media blocks that are needed to construct the at least onestripe of media blocks is received. During the construction, if anydefective data in the media blocks has been received, the stripe ofmedia content may be recovered using one or more additional blocks(e.g., blocks received after the first minimum number of blocks)received from source clients. It is to be understood that there arevarious ways to generate redundant blocks for a stripe of data blocks,but in some embodiments, parity information may be transmitted to thereceiving client that enables the receiving client to recreate thestripe of media content from only a subset of the total media blocks ina particular stripe.

Under RAID level 6, the client device receives a stripe of media blocksthat includes two independent redundant blocks corresponding to thestripe of media blocks so that even if any two of the source clientdevices are late in delivering their respective blocks or are notavailable for providing media blocks, the portion of the instance ofmedia content can be correctly constructed using the blocks receivedfrom the other source client devices. At block 412, the client devicemay playback the constructed portion of the instance of media content.Alternatively, the client device may store the constructed portion ofthe instance of media content for later playback. It is to be understoodthat, in order to prepare next portion of the media content, the clientdevice can receive the next stripe of media blocks while playing someportions of the instance of media content.

At decision block 414, there is a determination as to whether the clientdevice received all media blocks for the entire instance of mediacontent. If it is determined that the client device needs to receivemore media blocks from the source client devices, the routine 400returns back to block 408 and continues. The routine 400 repeats theabove-mentioned process until the client device receives media blocksfor the entire instance of media content. However, if it is determinedat decision block 414 that the client device has received media blocksfor the entire instance of media content, the routine 400 completes atblock 416.

With reference to FIG. 5, a flow diagram 500 illustrative of a serviceserver routine for providing services by enabling a client device toreceive instances of media content from several source client devices inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention is described.

At block 502, the service server 104 receives from a client device arequest for an instance of media content. As described above, someinstances of media content may have been distributed in the form ofmedia blocks amongst source client devices. One group of source clientdevices may be implemented as a small scale edge cache server configuredto fulfill the request for users. Each source client device includes acache memory component where the service server 104 can write or updatemedia blocks of several different instances of media content. From theuser's point of view, a source client device may not be different fromany other client device because the source client device can be used bythe user to navigate a media content catalog and/or to receive mediacontent over the Internet. It is to be noted that the transmitting ofmedia blocks from a source client device to other client devices istransparent to a user who operates the source client device.

At block 504, the service server 104 may obtain information about theclient device. The service server 104 may get profile information aboutthe client device to obtain the physical address or network address ofthe client device. In one embodiment, the service server requires theprofile information at the time of a user subscription with the serviceserver. At block 506, the service server 104 obtains index tables whichinclude information about which group of source client devices canprovide an efficient service to the client device and which containmedia blocks that can be used to fulfill the request. As mentionedabove, the source client devices may be grouped for facilitating arequest for an instance of particular media content based on, amongother considerations, a geographic locality or other logical grouping.Typically, a subset of media content can be served by one group ofsource client devices. In one embodiment, the source client devices maybe grouped by other factors, such as an encoding format, size, category,etc., of the instances of media content. For example, one group isdesignated to store media blocks for audio content while another groupis designated to store media blocks for video content. The serviceserver 104 may determine which group of source client devices can servewhich media content, which group of source client devices caneffectively serve which geographic area, and the like.

At block 508, the service server 104 selects a group of source clientdevices for serving the requested service based on the obtained indextables and other relevant information. The selected group stores mediablocks which are utilized to fulfill the requested service. At block510, the service server 104 provides the client device with theinformation about the selected group of source client devices. In oneembodiment, the service server 104 may verify the user (or the clientdevice) for each requested service and transmit verification (orauthorization) to download the requested instance of media content fromthe selected group of source client device to the client device. In analternative embodiment, the client device may receive from the serviceserver an authorization which can be used for a fixed number of servicesor for services during a fixed time period. For example, a user canpurchase a fixed number of services up front and receives anauthorization that is good for that fixed number of services. In thoseembodiments, the peer-to-peer connection can be established with asource client device only if the client device provides verification oran authorization to download the requested instance of media content. Inthis manner, the network security can be well maintained. The routine500 completes at block 514.

With reference to FIG. 6, a flow diagram 600 illustrative of an instanceof media content initialization routine for distributing media blocks ofinstances of media content amongst several source client devices inaccordance with an aspect of the present invention will be described.

At block 602, an instance of media content may be divided or segmentedinto N stripes. At block 603, each stripe may be divided into severalmedia blocks, for example, four media blocks, for distribution amongsource client devices. A media block may differ in size betweendifferent implementations. One of ordinary skill in the art wouldappreciate that the size of the media block can be configured to besmall enough in order to avoid congestion or latency problems. The levelof implemented RAID, the number of source client devices per group, andother information may also be used to determine the number of mediablocks to be divided. As with FIGS. 4 and 5, assume that RAID level 6may be implemented in exemplary embodiments described herein. However,in alternative embodiments, other RAID levels may be utilized.

At block 604, redundancy information may be generated for each stripe ofmedia blocks (e.g., a group of media blocks defined by particular RAIDlevel). In an illustrative embodiment, parity information is generatedsuch that any two of the four blocks received can be used to generatethe entire stripe of media content. At block 606, a group of sourceclient devices may be selected for facilitating a service to provide theinstance of media content to other client devices based on theirgeographic locality, network topology, network congestion, or clientutilization, among other considerations. Referring to FIG. 7, apictorial diagram 700 of several groups of source client devices forserving corresponding areas is depicted. Assume a scenario where theusers of the service server 104 may be located in three areas, forexample, “AREA-A” 702, “AREA-B” 704, and “AREA-C” 706. When the serviceserver distributes media blocks of an instance of media content, theservice server (not shown) may determine a group of source clientdevices for serving each area. As shown in FIG. 7, three groups ofsource client devices, “GROUP-A” for “AREA-A” 702, “GROUP-B” for“AREA-B” 704, and “GROUP-C” for “AREA-C” 706, are selected by theservice server for distribution. In this example, if a client device 708requesting the instance of media content is located in “AREA-A” 702, theclient device may be directed to access the source client devices of“GROUP-A” for the requested instance of media content. Similarly, if aclient device 714 requesting an instance of media content is located in“AREA-B” 704, the client device 714 may be directed to access the sourceclient devices of “GROUP-B” for the requested instance of media content.In some instances, a client device may be associated with multiplegroups. For example, assume that a client device is located in between“AREA-B” 704 and “AREA-C” 706. In that example, the service server 104may select “GROUP-B,” “GROUP-C,” or both, for the client. It isunderstood that the geographic locality is one of many factors that theservice server can use to define source client devices into severalgroups. For example, other relevant information, such as potential loadon source client devices, may be considered when the service server 104determines a group of source client devices for the client device.

Referring back to FIG. 6, at block 608, the service server 104 may mapthe media blocks and the redundant blocks to source client devices ineach group based on some distribution rules. The distribution rules mayspecify what level of RAID to be implemented, the number of sourceclient devices per group, etc. At block 610, the service server 104 maycreate index tables reflecting the mapping information and store thecreated index tables in local memory. When a client device requests foran instance of media content, the service server may make a reference tothe index tables to identify a group of source client devices forfulfilling the request.

At block 612, the service server 104 may distribute the media blocks andthe redundant blocks to each group of source client devices in accordwith the index tables. As mentioned above, the distribution of mediablocks can be done at once (multicasted) for each group, or graduallydone based on the demand of end-users in the geographic locality. Thus,if an instance of particular media content is predicted to be morepopular in one area, media blocks of that particular media content maybe first distributed among source client devices that are most likely toserve the area. Also, if some instances of media content are predictednot to be popular but there may be a demand, a few selected groups ofsource client devices may be selected to store media blocks of suchinstances of media content. Continuing with the above-mentioned example,in FIG. 7, assume that media blocks of a less popular instance of mediacontent are distributed only among a particular group of source clientdevices, for example, “GROUP-A.” In this example, “GROUP-A” will serveusers in “AREA-A” 702, “AREA-B” 704, and “AREA-C” 706 by providing ofthe instance of less popular media content.

Once the media blocks of the instance of media content are distributedamong at least one group of source client devices as illustrated atblock 612, a client device can receive the media blocks directly fromthe group of source client devices. The routine 600 completes at block614.

Accordingly, systems and methods using fractional redundant distributionof media content has been described that can, among other benefits,reduce latency in media delivery. For the Internet to become a viablealternative to media delivered to the home from broadband cable andsatellite, users preferably should be able to change media sourcesquickly. Latencies in excess of several seconds degrade the userexperience and can make it impractical for users to browse for content.The total latency of the system is determined by the time data can bereliably delivered. The statistical probability that a packet can bedelivered within a certain period of time is improved through the dataredundancy approaches described herein. That is, by using the firstreceived of the minimum number of blocks to reconstruct each stripe ofmedia content, the system does not need to wait for the slowest blocksto arrive. Because any of the source clients, or the networks betweenthe source and receiving client, may be overloaded or experiencecongestion the described approach can increase the probability that thereceived blocks can be used to recreate the respective stripe of mediacontent under a desired latency threshold.

While illustrative embodiments have been illustrated and described, itwill be appreciated that various changes can be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
 1. A method for distributing media content, the method comprising: transmitting, by a client device, a request to a service server for downloading an instance of media content, wherein the request includes an indication of a client location, and wherein the indication of the client location is an indication of a logical or physical location associated with the client device; receiving from the service server information about a plurality of source client devices, wherein the plurality of source client devices contains at least one group of source client devices associated with a geographic locality, wherein each source client device in the plurality of source client devices has been provided with at least one portion of the instance of media content by the service server based on a geographic locality associated with the source client device such that at least one group of source client devices in the plurality of source client devices collectively contains the instance of media content, wherein the plurality of source client devices is organized according to geographic criteria, wherein the geographic criteria are associated with a geographic locality based at least on the indication of the client location, and wherein each portion of the instance of media content is divided into one or more media fractions with corresponding parity information; establishing at least one peer-to-peer communication connection with two or more source client devices in the plurality of source client devices based on the organization according to geographic criteria; upon establishment of the peer-to-peer communication connection, downloading a subset of the media fractions and the corresponding parity information from the two or more source client devices, wherein the subset of media fractions is less than all of the media fractions that comprise the portions of the instance of media content; and using the subset of the downloaded media fractions and the corresponding parity information to recreate the instance of media content.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving from the service server an authorization to access the plurality of source client devices.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein establishing a peer-to-peer connection includes transmitting the received authorization to the two or more source client devices.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the recreated instance of the media content.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising downloading all of the media fractions.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein a media fraction received after receiving the subset of media fractions is used to restore data corrupted in the subset of media fractions.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the received media fraction is redundant of a media fraction in the subset.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the corrupted data is determined through a parity check.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein each source client device includes a memory component for storing a plurality of media fractions and for enabling client devices to download the stored media fractions.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the memory component is a cache memory component.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein each source client device is configured to communicate with the service server which writes the plurality of media fractions in the memory component.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein a source client device is configured to establish a two way peer-to-peer communication connection between any client devices with an authorization issued from the service server.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the source client device is a digital home communication terminal which is configured to enable other client devices to download a plurality of media fractions over the two way peer-to-peer communication connection.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the source client device is a television set-top terminal coupled to a television, the television set-top terminal being configured to enable other client devices to download a plurality of media fractions over the two way peer-to-peer communication connection.
 15. A computer system for providing media content from client devices over a peer-to-peer communication connection, the system comprising: a client computing device configured to: transmit a request to a service server for downloading an instance of media content, the instance of media content comprising a plurality of media fractions; receive, from the service server, information about a plurality of computing devices, wherein the plurality of computing devices is organized according to criteria associated with a geographic locality, wherein the plurality of computing devices stores media fractions collectively constituting the instance of media content, and wherein each media fraction includes corresponding parity information; establish a peer-to-peer communication connection with one or more of the plurality of computing devices based at least on the criteria associated with a geographic locality; download a subset of the media fractions and the corresponding parity information from the two or more computing devices over the established peer-to-peer communication connection, wherein the subset of the media fractions is less than all of the media fractions that comprise the instance of media content; and use the subset of the downloaded media fractions and the corresponding parity information to recreate the instance of media content.
 16. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the plurality of computing devices has been selected by the service server to serve the request for the instance of media content.
 17. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the client computing device receives from the service server an authorization to access each of the plurality of computing devices.
 18. The computer system of claim 17, wherein the client computing device transmits the received authorization to each of the plurality of computing devices.
 19. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the client computing device is further configured to identify a first set of media fractions from the downloaded media fractions which includes first received media fractions that collectively constitute a playable portion of the instance of media content.
 20. The computer system of claim 19, wherein the client computing device utilizes the subset of media fractions to produce a playable portion of the instance of media content.
 21. The computer system of claim 20, wherein the client computing device stores the produced playable portion of the instance of media content.
 22. The computer system of claim 20, wherein the client computing device receives a delayed media fraction which is related to the playable portion of the instance of media content.
 23. The computer system of claim 22, wherein the client computing device uses the delayed media fraction to restore corrupted data in the first set of media fractions.
 24. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the plurality of computing devices is configured to communicate with the service server and receive media fractions from the service server.
 25. The client device of claim 15, wherein the plurality of computing devices includes a digital home communication terminal which is configured to enable the client computing device to download a stored media fraction over the peer-to-peer communication connection.
 26. The client device of claim 15, wherein the plurality of computing devices includes a television set-top terminal coupled to a television, the television set-top terminal being configured to enable the client computing device to download a stored media fraction over the peer-to-peer communication connection.
 27. A method for providing media content to a client device, the method comprising: receiving from the client device a request for an instance of media content; determining geographic criteria associated with a client device location at least based on the request for the instance of media content; obtaining an index table associated with the requested instance of media content; identifying a group of source client devices from the obtained index table, each of the source client devices storing media fractions of the requested instance of media content such that the group of source client devices collectively contains the requested instance of media content, wherein the group of source client devices are identified at least in part based on the geographic criteria, and wherein the instance of media content has been divided into the media fractions; and providing the client device with information about the group of source client devices and the stored media fractions, wherein the information includes information about a subset of the stored media fractions sufficient to recreate the requested instance of the media content, wherein the subset of media fractions is less than all of the media fractions that comprise the requested instance of the media content.
 28. The method of claim 27, further comprising: verifying the client device for the request for an instance of media content; and in response to verification, transmitting an authorization to download the instance of media content from the group of source client devices.
 29. The method of claim 28, wherein the authorization is used for the client device to establish a peer-to-peer communication with each source client device from the group.
 30. The method of claim 27, wherein the subset of the stored media fractions includes minimum media fractions with which the client device starts producing a playable portion of the instance of the media content.
 31. The method of claim 27, wherein several groups of source client devices are identified, based on their geographic locality, for distribution of the media fractions.
 32. The method of claim 27, wherein several groups of source client devices are identified, based on their network topology, for distribution of the media fractions.
 33. The method of claim 27, wherein a source client device is a digital home communication terminal which is configured to enable the client device to download the media fractions over a peer-to-peer communication connection.
 34. The method of claim 27, wherein a source client device is a television set-top terminal coupled to a television, the television set-top terminal being configured to enable the client device to download the media fractions over a peer-to-peer communication connection.
 35. A computer system for enabling a client device to receive media content through a group of source client devices, the computer system comprising: at least one data store for storing instances of media content and information about several groups of source client devices; and a computing device in communication with the at least one data store, wherein the computing device is configured to: receive from a client device a request for an instance of media content, wherein the request includes an indication of a client device location; obtain mapping information associated with the instance of media content; identify a group of source client devices for fulfilling the request based at least on the mapping information and the indication of a client device location; and provide the client device with the mapping information about the identified group of source client devices, wherein the mapping information includes information about distribution of a plurality of media fractions that collectively constitute the instance of media content among the group of source client devices, wherein the mapping information includes information about a geographic locality of each source client device in the group of source client devices, wherein the mapping information includes information about a subset of the plurality of media fractions sufficient to recreate the requested instance of media content, and wherein the subset of the plurality of media fractions is less than the plurality of media fractions that collectively constitute the instance of media.
 36. The computer system of claim 35, wherein the computing device verifies the client device for the request for an instance of media content and in response to verification transmits an authorization for downloading the instance of media content from the group of source client devices.
 37. The computer system of claim 35, wherein the authorization is used for the client device to establish a peer-to-peer communication connection with each of source client devices in the group.
 38. The computer system of claim 35, wherein the instance of the media content is divided into playable portions.
 39. The computer system of claim 38, wherein a source client device in the identified group stores at least one media fraction of each playable portion.
 40. The computer system of claim 38, wherein a minimum number of media fractions to recreate the requested instance of the media content is predefined.
 41. The computer system of claim 40, wherein once the computing device receives the minimum number of media fractions, the computing device recreates a playable portion of the requested instance of media content.
 42. The computer system of claim 41, wherein the computing device receives an additional media fraction which is used to restore defective data in the playable portion of the requested instance of media content.
 43. The computer system of claim 42, wherein the computing device receives the additional media fraction after receiving the minimum number of media fractions.
 44. The computer system of claim 35, wherein the source client device includes a cache component where the computing device writes the plurality of media fractions.
 45. The computer system of claim 35, wherein the client device is also used as one of the group of the source client devices. 